Revisiting Wilson’s Formulas for Simplified Wind-Wave Prediction

Abstract

A procedure for predicting the significant height and period of wind waves generated in a uniform fetch in deep water is presented in the closed-form expressions based on Wilson’s formulas, together with relevant design diagrams. Although Wilson’s formulas are relatively unknown in the United States, they are quite reliable. The relationship between the nondimensional minimum duration and the nondimensional fetch length is empirically expressed in a power law, which enables the analyst to judge whether the wave growth is limited by the wind duration or the fetch length. The correlation between the significant wave height and period also indicates the period approximately proportional to the 2/3 power of the wave height.